No Discipline for Ditka

New Orleans Saint Coach Mike Ditka will not be disciplined for a sideline bet he made with defensive coordinator Zaven Yaralian.

Ditka was questioned at NFL headquarters last week after he and Yaralian were shown on television exchanging money on the sideline in the closing minutes of the Saints’ 13-10 victory at Oakland on Nov. 9. Ditka wrote a letter of apology to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Ditka and Yaralian had a bet on whether the Saints could defend a pass route.

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The deal that keeps the Raiders in Oakland will cost taxpayers millions of dollars for 28 years, even if the Oakland Coliseum sells out, the San Jose Mercury News reported Thursday.

Oakland and Alameda County officials have said only that the public will be required to pay subsidies for two years using a one-time windfall, and have refused to project future deficits.

But a confidential Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority report obtained by the Mercury News shows that the public will be footing a $185-million bill even if every seat sells out.

And at the current slow rate of “personal seat licenses” sales, the public would have to pay $415 million over the course of the 30-year bond deal, according to financial advisor David Stephens.

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Denver Bronco offensive guard Mark Schlereth underwent back surgery for a herniated disk and likely will be sidelined six weeks. . . . Unnecessary roughness in games last Sunday resulted in fines for Kansas City cornerback Jerome Woods ($10,000), Arizona center Mike Devlin ($7,500) and Dallas defensive back Omar Stoutmire ($5,000).